Central Arizona Raceway
Fresh off '07, Anderson rolling again in Arizona
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
John Anderson earned $3,000. (DirtonDirt.com)
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 19) — Coming off an impressive 14-victory season, John Anderson didn't want to wait too many races to get rolling again in 2008. Four races seems about right.
Taking the lead from Terry Phillips on the 14th lap, John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., pulled away the remainder of the 30-lapper to win by a full straightaway in the fourth leg of Central Arizona Raceway's Wild West Shootout. Anderson, who started fifth and was up to third by a lap-six restart, earned $3,000 for the 30-lap unsanctioned victory. | Slideshow
It came after a couple of subpar outings for the Greg and Pat Junghans-owned Shop-Quik Racing team, but Anderson made sure team members didn't get too frustrated during their annual Arizona trip.
"I was just trying to tell the guys ... no need to panic," Anderson said. "We made a few changes (in finishing third) Wednesday and felt like the car came around, so we kind of knew where we were going to be. To try and get this first win, we had such an awesome year last year, and we were just so afraid of not doing so well. .. we just want to prove we can do this as a team, and just getting our first win for the new year is pretty awesome."
Phillips, who returned to Arizona on Friday night after flying to his Springfield, Mo., home for the funeral of primary sponsor John Kuntz, was disappointed in settling for second while Brad Looney of Republic, Mo, charged from the last row to finish third, advancing 20 positions.
Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., damaged his car's front suspension in a lap-11 tangle with Jack Sullivan in turn two and finished fourth after losing third to Looney on lap 24. Sixth-starting Trevor Glaser of Tangent, Ore., was fifth. Sullivan, running third when Mars made contact in turn two, had a flat left-rear tire and wasn't able to return to the track in a race slowed by two cautions.
Anderson restarted second behind Phillips on the 11th lap and stalked the leader before making an outside pass exiting turn four.
"I knew he'd get back up on the wheel and try it again, so I was just kind of trying to surprise him the best I could," Anderson said, "but I knew I'd have to race him door-to-door there for a while, and just never let up and keep going, because I knew he wasn't going to, and I knew Mars wasn't going to."
Anderson parked the MasterSbilt Race Car he drove most of last season in favor of a new car that had just one race on it.
"We struggled with our old one just getting 'er up to speed," Anderson said. "We just found a few things and didn't panic, put the setup on this thing and she responded real well tonight. It was awesome. You don't get to line up next to those guys, Mars and Phillips, with a few to go very often, and come out on top, so I was pretty emotional after that. It was a big win for us."
Phillips, in the middle of what he called "an emotional week" after the founder of Andy's Frozen Custard died Jan. 15, sat in the cockpit of his car several minutes after the race before climbing out and stalking to his hauler.
"We had a decent car, but when it got slick, we weren't very good," said Phillips, a three-time winner at Central Arizona last year but shut out in 2008. "I just can't get this new car figured out here. We're pretty good, but not good enough to win, I guess. We'll try it one more time tomorrow."
Sullivan, who started ninth, gained two spots after the lap-six restart and was running a strong third on the 11th lap when Mars made contact trying to make a low-side move in turn two. Sullivan spun around and Mars suffered damage that helped end his five-race winning streak in the Jess Anderson-owned No. H2.
"I think I had a car capable of winning of the race. I hated that it happened," said Sullivan, who didn't believe Mars intentionally made contact. "He doesn't race that way. I've never seen him race that way. I'll give a guy the benefit of the doubt. He came down here and told my (crew chief) he was sorry, that he didn't mean to."
Mars was sorry about Sullivan's demise — a broken shock and bent birdcage prevented him from returning to the track — and about his car's damage. "It was too bad," said Mars, who won the previous Saturday and Sunday in Casa Grande. "The car was really good."
Notebook
Anderson's MasterSbilt Race Car is powered by a Jay Dickens Engine and sponsored by Shop-Quik Convenience Stores, Quality Tire, MarCorp Electric and Jim Leonardo Plumbing. ... Anderson's previous victory at Central Arizona Raceway came in 2004. ... Ricky Weiss started outside the front row and led the first few laps before Terry Phillips took over. ... Weiss left the track after banging together with Eddie Kirchoff in turn two after a lap-six restart. ... The lap-six caution appeared when Steve Drake stopped on the backstretch after his car's nosepiece folded under the front wheels. ... The second and final caution appeared on the 11th lap for the Mars-Sullivan tangle in turn two. ... The program ran quickly until a serious modified accident in turn two when Bob Sykes of Eunice, N.M., barrel-rolled over the turn-two banking. Rescue officials spent about 15 minutes removing him from the car and a medical helicopter arrived during the Late Model feature to take him to the hospital. He complained of shoulder pain and dizziness immediately following the accident. The Late Model feature ended about 7:30 p.m. ... Sunday's finale pays $7,500 to the winner. Action begins at 2 p.m.
